Latest news with #Yett
TimesLIVE
5 days ago
- Health
- TimesLIVE
Funding cuts drive Sudan's children to the brink of irreversible harm: Unicef
Funding cuts are driving an entire generation of children in Sudan to the brink of irreversible harm as support is scaled back and malnutrition cases persist across the country, the UN children's agency said on Tuesday. UNHCR and other UN agencies face one of the worst funding crises in decades, compounded by US and other donor states' decisions to slash foreign aid funding. "Children have limited access to safe water, food [and] health care. Malnutrition is rife, and many good children are reduced to just skin, bones," said Sheldon Yett, Unicef's representative in Sudan, speaking via video link from Port Sudan. Sudan's conflict between the army and rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has displaced millions and split the country into rival zones of control with the RSF still deeply embedded in western Sudan. Several areas to the south of Sudan's capital Khartoum are at risk of famine, the World Food Programme said in July. Children were being cut off from life-saving services due to funding cuts, while the scale of need is staggering, Unicef said. "With recent funding cuts, many of our partners in Khartoum and elsewhere have been forced to scale back ... We are being stretched to the limit across Sudan, with children dying of hunger," Yett said. "We on the verge of irreversible damage being done to an entire generation of children in Sudan." Only 23% of the $4.16bn (R74.37bn) global humanitarian response plan for Sudan has been funded, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Access to areas in need also continues to be a challenge, with some roads rendered inaccessible due to the rainy season, hampering aid delivery efforts, Unicef said. Other areas continue to be under siege, such as Al-Fashir. "It has been one year since famine was confirmed in ZamZam camp and no food has reached this area. Al-Fashir remains under siege. We need that access now," said Jens Laerke of OCHA.
DW
5 days ago
- General
- DW
Sudan: El-Fasher faces famine as supplies cut off, UN says – DW – 08/06/2025
The UN has warned that "everyone" in the besieged capital of North Darfur was under a daily struggle to survive, with food prices soaring and no access to humanitarian aid. Thousands of people in the besieged capital of Sudan's North Darfur state, El-Fasher, are in danger of starvation, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday. The rebel group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has sought to seize El-Fasher since May 2024. It is the last major city in North Darfur still under the Sudanese government's control. Around 300,000 people remain in the besieged city under increasingly desperate conditions, according to UN figures. The WFP said food prices in El-Fasher rose by 460% compared to the rest of the country, forcing soup kitchens to shut while aid remains blocked. "Everyone in El-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive," said Eric Perdison, the WFP's regional director for eastern and southern Africa. The UN said it had been unable to deliver food to the city by land for more than a year due to blocked access routes. "We have not had access to the horrible situation unfolding in El-Fasher, despite trying for months and months and months," UNICEF's Sheldon Yett said after visiting Sudan. Last year, the UN declared famine in the displacement camps surrounding El-Fasher. It was estimated that starvation would take hold in the city by May this year, but a lack of data has prevented an official famine declaration. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Since April 2023, the war has killed tens of thousands across Sudan, displaced more than 12 million and left 26 million at risk of hunger. The UN describes it as the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis. In March, the Sudanese army pushed out the RSF from its positions in Khartoum, raising hopes for a turning point in the war. Yett said relative calm may have returned to Khartoum, but children there still have only "limited, but growing access to safe water, food, healthcare and learning." "Children are dying from hunger, disease and direct violence," said Yett, calling it a "looming catastrophe." "We are on the verge of irreversible damage to an entire generation of children." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
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First Post
6 days ago
- General
- First Post
Unicef sounds alarm as funding cuts put Sudan's most vulnerable children at starvation risk
Sudan is facing a dire humanitarian crisis as funding cuts leave millions of children at risk of starvation and permanent harm, Unicef warned. read more Displaced children play, following Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacks on Zamzam displacement camp, as they shelter in the town of Tawila, North Darfur, Sudan. File image/ Reuters Funding cuts are putting an entire generation of Sudanese children at risk of permanent injury, as support is reduced and malnutrition cases remain throughout the nation, according to the UN children's agency on Tuesday. Unhcr and other UN agencies are facing one of the greatest financing crises in decades, exacerbated by the United States and other donor countries' choices to cut foreign aid spending. 'Children have limited access to safe water, food, healthcare. Malnutrition is rife, and many good children are reduced to just skin, bones,' said Sheldon Yett, Unicef's Representative in Sudan, speaking via video link from Port Sudan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sudan's conflict between the army and opposing Rapid Support Forces has uprooted millions of people and divided the nation into competing zones of authority, with the RSF remaining strongly established in western Sudan. Several districts south of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, are at risk of famine, the World Food Programme warned in July. Children are being denied life-saving care as a result of financial cuts, despite the astounding extent of demand, according to Unicef. 'With recent funding cuts, many of our partners in Khartoum and elsewhere have been forced to scale back… We are being stretched to the limit across Sudan, with children dying of hunger,' Yett said. 'We on the verge of irreversible damage being done to an entire generation of children in Sudan.' Only 23% of the 4.16-billion-dollar global humanitarian response plan for Sudan has been funded, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Access to areas in need also continues to be a challenge, with some roads rendered inaccessible due to the rainy season, hampering aid delivery efforts, Unicef said. Other areas continue to be under siege, such as Al-Fashir. 'It has been one year since famine was confirmed in ZamZam camp and no food has reached this area. Al-Fashir remains under siege. We need that access now,' said Jens Laerke of Ocha. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Arab News
27-03-2025
- Arab News
UNICEF warns 825,000 children trapped in battle around North Darfur
NEW YORK: At least 825,000 Sudanese children are trapped by fighting around the beleaguered state capital of North Darfur, threatened by violence or starvation, UNICEF has warned. 'We cannot turn a blind eye to this hell on earth,' said Sheldon Yett, the UN children's agency representative for Sudan, demanding an end to the conflict. 'An estimated 825,000 children are trapped in a growing catastrophe in and around Al-Fasher,' said Yett, adding that more than 70 children have been killed or maimed this year. 'With these numbers reflecting only verified incidents, it is likely the true toll is far higher, with children in a daily struggle to survive,' he said. In North Darfur, more than 60,000 people have been displaced in the past six weeks, adding to the more than 600,000 displaced — including 300,000 children — since the war started in April 2023. A few weeks ago, Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, and the UN World Food Programme suspended their work in a vast displaced people's camp in Zamzam, just south of El-Fasher. UNICEF, however, continues to operate there and in the city itself, but food supplies are expected to run out within weeks. 'UNICEF delivered ready-to-use therapeutic food, or RUTF and other lifesaving supplies to Al-Fasher three months ago, but these stocks are now depleted,' Yett said. 'Repeated efforts by UNICEF and partners to deliver more supplies have been unsuccessful given threats from armed fighters and criminal gangs.'
Gulf Today
27-03-2025
- Health
- Gulf Today
Unicef warns 825,000 children trapped in Sudan battle
At least 825,000 Sudanese children are trapped by fighting around the beleaguered state capital of North Darfur, threatened by violence or starvation, Unicef warned. "We cannot turn a blind eye to this hell on earth," said Sheldon Yett, the UN children's agency representative for Sudan, demanding an end to the conflict. The Sudanese army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for almost two years, and the town of El-Fasher in North Darfur is under siege. "An estimated 825,000 children are trapped in a growing catastrophe in and around El-Fasher," said Yett, adding that more than 70 children have been killed or maimed this year. "With these numbers reflecting only verified incidents, it is likely the true toll is far higher, with children in a daily struggle to survive," he said. In North Darfur, more than 60,000 people have been displaced in the past six weeks, adding to the more than 600,000 displaced — including 300,000 children — since the war started in April 2023. The war between General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan's army and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo's RSF has claimed tens of thousands of lives and driven 12 million people from their homes. A few weeks ago, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the UN World Food Programme suspended their work in a huge displaced persons camp in Zamzam, just south of El Fasher. Unicef, however, continues to operate there and in the city itself, but food supplies are expected to run out within weeks. "Unicef delivered ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), and other lifesaving supplies to Al Fasher three months ago, but these stocks are now depleted," Yett said. "Repeated efforts by UNICEF and partners to deliver more supplies have been unsuccessful given threats from armed fighters and criminal gangs." Agence France-Presse
